Expert: CIA Techniques Were Torture

(CBS)  James Bamford is an author and intelligence expert who has written extensively about the CIA. "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric talked with him Monday night about the day's developments related to CIA interrogation techniques and whether these the practices revealed to day were in direct violation of the Geneva Convention.

Bamford: Well, threatening is death is a form of torture. It's considered torture by the United States and the United States has agreed to uphold the anti-torture provisions of the international treaty. So it certainly is a violation, yes.

Couric: Do other civilized nations engage in these methods?

Bamford: Well, I've been following the CIA for a long time and I've never come across any other major westernized intelligence agencies engaged in torture. I haven't come across any, not that they may not be or may be doing it, but I haven't seen any examples of it.

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Couric: What about those who say making threats against a detainee's family is acceptable if it's effective and prevents another massive terrorist attack?

Bamford: Again, the problem here is that eventually these things come out and the United States looks very bad for doing these kind of things and you get to the point where are we creating more terrorism by allowing the world to see us acting in this way? In other words, having more people be angry at us, angry enough to commit terrorism against the United States. So it may be very self-defeating in the end.

Couric: Finally Mr. Bamford, why would the FBI be able to handle these interrogations any better than the CIA?

Bamford: Well, the FBI actually had a very good reputation over the past few years in terms of these cases. While the CIA was engaged in these activities, the FBI was basically protesting against them. So they've shown in the past that they're more adept to handling these things than the CIA.

[smoknmirrors]

I don't condone torture. But I have to acknowledge that in the aftermath of 9/11, I wanted to get my hands on some of these people and administer a little "woodshed" education to their backsides. The CIA should not be faulted for their passion in providing Americans with security from these black-hearted vermin, just in some of their procedures for achieving it. If there is a penalty for these operatives to pay for failing to abide by conventions written and designed for an entirely different scenario, they should pay it. Choices have consequences. Punishment should fit the crime. Still, we should be cautious in our judgments of others when we might find ourselves in a position similar to that and want just a little understanding by others of what we are doing and why we are doing it.

Can you believe this Bamford guy? He doesn't know of other countries who were "civilized" enough to have signed the Conventions that threaten prisoners with death? Maybe we should check this guy and see if he has a bellybutton.

[amamd210]

In case Katie Couric forgot, America is not the only "civilized" country in the world. Where does she come up with a question to Mr. Bamford about "...other CIVILIZED countries committing torture...". Is she saying only America is civilized, and the rest of the world is not? So, China is not civilized, Russia, Japan, England, France, THE VATICAN... Doesn't she read her prompter first as to what to ask? And she gets paid $30,000,000.00 to insult other countries????? No wonder CBS EVENING NEWS is the least watched among the 3 major networks. I myself do not watch it live, I tape it and IF I have time I watch it,which most of the time I don't...that's probably why. Wlater Cronkite, where are you?..........

[doc18d]

Ok lets get our facts strait.
Just because the name is the same doesn't mean the act is.
The water boarding the Japanese did was torture. It had nothing in common with the simulated drowning we used.
The japanese filled you stomach with rice then forced you full of water until the rice expanded and your stomach ruptured causing a terible death. Last time I checked, the water boarding we used on TERRORISTS, is the same as what we have used on our Special Op's soldiers, and we havn't lost any of either group. IF fear is torture, then every mother out htere who says "wait until your father gets home" is guilty.

[Hosheen]

After WWII, the USA hanged Japanese officers for water boarding because it was ruled to be torture. But when the CIA does it, now it's OK? Hypocrites!

[Lorrimer1]

Ms Katie, the Geneva Convention Laws apply to soldiers of countries at war with each other. They do not apply to terrorists from various countries that are not even in their own home country and they are cutting people's throats and cutting people's heads off and God only knows what other forms of torture they employ. You liberals need to wake up to the real world.

[mikezarinski]

Anything the CIA did or will do in the future is OK with me

[dantwin]

Correct me if I am wrong, but whom were we torturing before the 9/11 attacks? The terrorists need no excuse for hating us.

[donnerwetter]

The American CIA is in fact a terror organization. Bush,Cheney,Rumsfeld, Ashcroft are a bunch of criminls who deserve to be expelled from the US.

[Lorrimer1]

There are planes flying to Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan everyday. Why don't you go live with all those nice Sunday School teaching terrorists.